


stars in your sky

by miiniwa



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 14:39:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9445880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miiniwa/pseuds/miiniwa
Summary: He had told him, in a loud and energetic tone that Midori couldn't quite forget even if he tried, "Every night before you go to sleep, make sure you write down one thing that you're thankful for!"It's one of those typical routines that could be found by typing in "ways to help a depressed person" in a search engine, and Midori suspects that that is exactly what Chiaki had done, although somehow, it doesn't completely bother him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I have their characters pinned down exactly, but I still wanted to go ahead with this idea anyway..

The part Midori hates most about waking up early in the morning is, hands down, how blurry his vision is, and how uncertain everything seems to be.

 

 

Whenever his vision remains blurry, he'll worry that he's still stuck in his dream somehow, and unable to move out of it. The world suddenly seems much less friendly, more ominous, and he'll spend most of that morning wondering about what's real and what's not, what exists and what doesn't.

 

 

He blinks multiple times, in efforts of letting his vision focus, which seems to do the trick, only about half the time. The other half, he'll keep his eyes shut for a few good minutes, hoping that the images in front of him will be solid and in general, just _there_.

 

 

Finally, the ceiling in front of him seemingly clicks into view, and Midori lets out a sigh of relief, rolling over to the side, only to roll on top of a hard and almost unfamiliar surface.

 

 

He frowns, sitting up and looking down at the hardcover notebook on the left side of his bed, frowning when he remembers why it's there in the first place.

 

 

_Morisawa-senpai_ , he sighs again, remembering back on the moment when Chiaki had dramatically pulled him aside one day, only to thrust the notebook into his arms.

 

 

He had told him, in a loud and energetic tone that Midori couldn't quite forget even if he tried, "Every night before you go to sleep, make sure you write down one thing that you're thankful for!"

 

 

It's one of those typical routines that could be found by typing in "ways to help a depressed person" in a search engine, and Midori suspects that that is exactly what Chiaki had done, although somehow, it doesn't completely bother him.

 

 

Aside from the loudness of Chiaki's voice, another thing he couldn't forget from that moment had been the genuine shine in Chiaki's eyes, and the dozens of colors reflected in them.

 

 

The notebook had also felt unusually warm in his arms, as if Chiaki had been holding onto it throughout most of the day, trying to find the right moment to pull him aside.

 

 

When he thinks about Chiaki spending his time searching up ways to help him, and then walking around aisles of notebooks to find the right one for him, his heart swells, just a tiny bit, but mostly because he wills himself not to let it go any further.

 

 

_Anyway, I've been keeping my promise_ , Midori thinks to himself, flipping to the latest page he had written in last night, which reads 'yakisoba,' because dinner that day had been particularly good.

 

 

With one more sigh, he finally gets up from his bed, stretching out a bit before he nods to himself, preparing for the rest of the day.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

"Morning, Takamine!"

 

 

Midori turns, nearly letting out a sigh in response, before he quickly swallows it back down.

 

 

"Good morning," he replies, looking over at Chiaki, who is, as with most often, beaming brightly at him.

 

 

_Too bright_ , Midori thinks quietly to himself, before slowly turning away.

 

 

"Hey, hey, wait a sec!" Chiaki says, and Midori cringes when a hand lands on his shoulder, with the type of grip that just tells him that it's going to be something bothersome.

 

 

"After class, let's meet outside, okay?" Chiaki tells him, and Midori suspects that it has something to do with giving him the notebook, which had been almost a month ago now.

 

 

"...Sure," Midori replies, and Chiaki smiles again, patting his shoulder graciously now.

 

 

"Great! Now, have fun in class, okay? And keep your chin up!" Chiaki says, using a bit of effort to reach over and give the top of Midori's head a swift pat, before he runs on ahead, giving Midori no time to say anything else.

 

 

Midori finally exhales the sigh he had been keeping in, because he knows well that Chiaki would probably give him some type of lecture for it, which is something he would very much like to avoid.

 

 

Still, there's a strange sort of warmth that seems to linger from the places Chiaki had patted him, and although he knows it can't possibly be all from Chiaki's hands, he can't help but feel that it's still there.

 

 

The bell for the beginning of class rings, snapping Midori out of thoughts, and he twitches, jogging to the classroom now, blaming Chiaki all the while.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

"Was there something you wanted to talk about, Morisawa-senpai?" Midori asks, kicking at the pebbles on the floor.

 

 

Just as Chiaki had requested, Midori had gone straight to his classroom at the end of the day, where Chiaki had been extremely enthusiastic to see him, before pulling and dragging him out to the school gates with him.

 

 

"Yup, let's go to the park and then talk about it," Chiaki nods, pulling Midori by his bag, and he raises a brow.

 

 

"Have you been using the notebook properly?" Chiaki asks, once they're settled at a bench in the middle of the park, and Midori is mostly unsurprised at how he cuts right to the chase.

 

 

"There's only one way to use it, right," Midori mutters back, hands pressing together when he realizes that there's a cold chill in the air.

 

 

"Hey, that's no way to talk to your upperclassman," Chiaki tells him, although Midori can tell that he's not being entirely serious with that.

 

 

_But he's right_ , Midori glances off to the side, feeling slightly guilty.

 

 

"...I've been writing something in it every night," he replies properly, eyes drawn to the orange and yellow leaves on the ground, reminiscent of Chiaki's eyes, despite being right next to the person himself.

 

 

"Has it been helping?" Chiaki questions, and at this point, Midori can only help but wonder why Chiaki seems to be so persistent about it all.

 

 

"I suppose," he tells him, glancing over at him.

 

 

_What exactly is he trying to say?_ Midori wonders quietly, reluctantly attempting to peer over at Chiaki's current expression, mostly blocked by his messy fringe.

 

 

A light, unexpected laugh passes through Chiaki's lips, and Midori almost flinches at the sound, undeniably caught off guard, and even more so when Chiaki finally looks up at him.

 

 

"I'm glad," Chiaki tells him, grinning, and Midori instantly feels his breath hitch, no matter how much he wills it not to.

 

 

Chiaki's smile is somehow brighter than usual, and Midori isn't sure how to place the reason for it, not knowing whether it's because of the sunset shades washing over his face, or some other trick of lighting.

 

 

Midori finds himself rubbing at his eyes either way, something that feels involuntary all of a sudden, and Chiaki raises a brow.

 

 

"What's up? You crying?" Chiaki questions, suddenly sounding much less considerate, and this time, Midori wastes no time in letting out an obvious sigh.

 

 

"No, I'm just...tired," Midori replies back, refusing to look Chiaki directly in the face now.

 

 

"Hm? Well, it's fine if you leave now. I have officially excused you for today!" Chiaki declares, giving him a swift pat on the side of his arm.

 

 

"Well, until next time then," Midori tells him, still slightly disoriented as he gives him a small bow before turning and leaving, wondering just when exactly the sun had started to set, and how much time had passed since they've been sitting there.

 

 

There's a tiny part of him that wants to turn around, to see if Chiaki is still sitting in that spot, still colored in with the shades of the sunset, but he holds himself back, keeping his eyes drawn to the ground, just slightly stubborn.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

Another month passes since Chiaki has given him the notebook, and ever since the day Midori had written down the word 'sunsets' on one of the pages, he's been finding it increasingly difficult to figure out what else to write.

 

 

Most days, he cheats and writes down repeats of 'mascot characters,' or whatever he had had for dinner that evening.

 

 

Still, through some strange and unexpected will, Midori would always find it in himself to be sure to write something down, no matter how tired he felt, and a part of him suspects that it has to do with the sunset colored smile he had seen that one day.

 

 

"Hey, Takamine!"

 

 

Midori almost jumps in his spot, startled when Chiaki is standing right outside his classroom, partly because he hadn't been expecting it, and partly because Chiaki's smile had still been somewhere in the back of his mind within the past few minutes.

 

 

"Did you need something, senpai?" Midori questions, sighing when Chiaki nods enthusiastically at him.

 

 

"Let's chat a bit!" Chiaki tells him, and Midori eyes him warily, agreeing to go along with him once again, only because telling him no would probably take much more effort.

 

 

"Doing well?" Chiaki asks him, hands sliding into his pockets.

 

 

"Why do you ask?" Midori questions, eyes on the ground as they continue walking towards the school gates.

 

 

"Oh, well, just wondering," Chiaki shrugs, and Midori realizes that Chiaki actually isn't all that great at making small talk.

 

 

"But, um, how's the notebook going? Still writing in it?" He asks, a kind of shimmering glint in his eyes, and Midori glances away.

 

 

"Only because a certain senpai would get mad at me if I didn't," Midori replies, expecting some sort of short laugh from Chiaki.

 

 

"Ah, then that means you're still writing in it!" Chiaki declares, and Midori nods back quietly.

 

 

"I was wondering if you were or not. But it does kind of seem like it's helping. Does it feel like you're being saved?" Chiaki asks, continuing with a joking, "just kidding," and Midori finds his steps becoming a bit slower.

 

 

_Was that all it was?_ Midori can't help but think.

 

 

Midori frowns, because to him, Chiaki has always been somewhat of an outsider towards his situation, someone who doesn't listen, someone who _can't understand_ , and the more he thinks about it, the more he's convinced that it's true.

 

 

Chiaki's constant persistence, paired with the growing frustration of not knowing what to write in the notebook anymore coming out of dormancy finally accumulates, and Midori heaves out a long sigh.

 

 

"You know, you've actually been a bit annoying lately," Midori says, before he can stop himself, and he watches as Chiaki frowns in response.

 

 

"Is it because you just want to keep playing hero? Because it feels like you're doing most of this for yourself," Midori continues, knowing that that's not what he wants to say to Chiaki, of all people.

 

 

"I— wha— it's not for myself. Look, I just wanted to help you out, because I hated hearing you say things like you want to die, and stuff like that," Chiaki tells him, almost fumbling with his words now.

 

 

"I thought that maybe, if I found a way to help you out, things would end up being fun for you," Chiaki says, a slight furrow at his brows, and Midori's not sure how to feel about it all.

 

 

"I mean, maybe I was too simple-minded about this, but I didn't want you to keep hating everything"—

 

 

"It's not easy," Midori snaps, a hand suddenly pressing at Chiaki's chest, clutching onto the front of his shirt.

 

 

"Takamine"— There's a slight hitch in his voice, and Midori instantly turns away, jogging now, because he doesn't want to hear it.

 

 

Unsurprisingly, there are no footsteps behind him, no Chiaki following after him, and for once, he's sincerely glad about that.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

A week passes, and at the current time, close to midnight, Midori finds himself with his face planted firmly within one of the stuffed animals on his bed.

 

 

Since then, he hasn't spoken a word to Chiaki, and whenever someone chose to ask about it, Midori would simply say, "He pissed me off," and no one would say anything else about the matter towards him.

 

 

Of course, there was a lot of widespread sympathy towards Chiaki, despite Chiaki still being able to smile and act relatively normal about things, a skill that he's probably developed throughout the years.

 

 

_I...want to die_ , Midori thinks to himself, groaning as he slowly turns onto his back, at the sound of his phone ringing.

 

 

The name 'Morisawa-senpai' pops up, and Midori inwardly cringes, because it's the first time Chiaki has texted him since the day of their argument, and he's extremely reluctant to see what it says.

 

 

He decides to tuck his phone under his pillow for now, convincing himself that he can save it for another hour, day, or maybe even another week.

 

 

A few minutes later, there's an unusual tapping sound at his window, and Midori instantly stands up, thinking, with a cringe marked clearly across his face now, _He wouldn't_.

 

 

Midori hastily pushes the curtains out of the way, just in time to see Chiaki holding a little pile of pebbles in his arm, with another ready to throw at his window.

 

 

Midori heaves out a long sigh, because something this unexpected is just exactly what he would expect from Chiaki, and he quietly wonders why this hadn't happened sooner.

 

 

His phone rings again, and Midori walks over to pick it up, feeling undeniably refreshed at the sharp, "Takamine!" that greets his ear.

 

 

"Morisawa-senpai, why are you standing outside my window?" Midori sighs.

 

 

"Well, um," Chiaki's voice is slightly muffled out by the sound of the wind, and Midori can only guess at how cold it must be outside.

 

 

"I'm not...really in the position to say this but...will you go outside and follow me?" Chiaki requests, and Midori frowns.

 

 

He takes a quick glance outside the window, where Chiaki is still standing, with his phone against his ear and his back turned towards him now. He quietly closes the curtain and sighs.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

"Here," Midori says, handing one of his extra scarves over to Chiaki, who probably hadn't thought things through all the way and had left his place without his own scarf or warmer clothes.

 

 

Chiaki is noticeably caught off guard by the dark green scarf presented in front of him, and he looks past it, taking a look at Midori, who is stubbornly glancing away.

 

 

"Thanks," Chiaki finally says, beaming as he accepts the scarf and instantly throws it around his neck, significantly warmer.

 

 

"You're thoughtful," Chiaki adds, moving the scarf to cover the lower half of his face.

 

 

"I"— Midori flinches, surrendering to another sigh.

 

 

"Yeah..." He mutters, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

 

 

"Oh, yeah, um, you can just— keep following me this way," Chiaki suddenly says, most likely feeling awkward since it's been the first time they've spoken face-to-face since their fight, and Midori finds it typical of him to make that obvious.

 

 

He simply nods for the sake of them both, quietly following Chiaki, saying nothing as they walk past the park, towards a set of stone stairs, and still choosing to say nothing as they continue into an area where there isn't much light.

 

 

"...Um, Morisawa-senpai," Midori mutters, trying to think up a polite way to say 'this feels way too suspicious.'

 

 

"Sorry...! It's just a bit more ahead," Chiaki replies, swiftly turning to look at him over his shoulder, and it's the tiny spark of determination in his eyes that reassures Midori a little.

 

 

They continue up a hill, almost at the top, where Chiaki stops walking, and Midori tilts his head at him, curious.

 

 

"You're probably...still really pissed off at me, and I don't blame you. But I still wanted to try and make it up to you, no matter what...so, um..." Chiaki trails off, and Midori stares at him, because it's a side of Chiaki that he doesn't see very often.

 

 

"I suck at saying things sometimes, so just— look up," Chiaki tells him, finger pointing up at the sky, and Midori gives him a puzzled look before he does what he's told.

 

 

He suddenly understands why Chiaki had taken him to a high place without much light, and in the middle of the night at that.

 

 

His eyes widen at the vast amount of stars scattered within his vision, some tied together in clusters, and he marvels at the hues of blue that he can see, because he hadn't really thought that something like this could be possible, not in this area at least.

 

 

For a very fleeting moment, Midori feels as if he'll end up crying, with the nearly unfamiliar heat prickling at his eyes, and he's not entirely sure why.

 

 

He sucks in a quick breath of cold, past-midnight air, and the heat in his eyes gradually fades, brought down to a light, shimmering twinkle.

 

 

"This is why I want you to keep looking up. For things like this," Chiaki says, and the light from all the stars makes his face a little bit brighter.

 

 

"You told me that I was doing most of this for myself — to be a hero — and honestly, I thought that might've been true for a while," Chiaki admits, and Midori twitches at the slight guilt he feels.

 

 

"But when I saw this before, I thought — for sure — 'I want Takamine to see this,'" he tells him, with a smile that's almost shy, and Midori stares at him in slight awe, because he's sure that Chiaki had only been speaking his honest thoughts, and even if he hadn't entirely meant for it to be, to Midori, it all seemed very hero-like, as if every star had represented some part of him.

 

 

"So, um, what do you think?" Chiaki speaks up, pulling Midori out of his thoughts, and he flinches, realizing that he had probably been staring too much.

 

 

"I..." He pauses, watching the cold air that leaves his mouth.

 

 

"It'll take a while," Midori tells him, hands moving back into his pockets, and he watches as Chiaki's face almost becomes disappointed.

 

 

"But right now, I'm happy," Midori continues, being honest.

 

 

"And I'll try to keep looking up," he says, offering him his own little smile, and Chiaki grins back at him, as if he'd been unable to hold it back.

 

 

"...Anyway," Midori says, feeling slightly awkward about being the only one to talk for a while.

 

 

"...Do you think we can go back inside? It's...really cold," Midori finally tells him, visibly shivering.

 

 

"Ah! Yeah, sorry, let's go, it's really late at night too"— Chiaki says, continuing to say a bunch of things as they start walking down the hill, and this time, Midori walks at his side rather than behind him, staying there up for the rest of the walk back home.

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

 

After saying a light-hearted good night and a quick and loud "see you tomorrow," Chiaki drops off Midori back at his place, predictably forgetting to give him back his scarf, but Midori decides to excuse that for the time being.

 

 

Midori quietly crawls into his covers, pulling a number of stuffed animals in with him, before he quickly emerges out of the temporary shelter, hands moving around to grab the notebook beneath his pillow.

 

 

Midori takes his cell phone out, using it as a flashlight as he turns to a blank space in the notebook, pen already moving to fill in that day's entry.

 

 

He quietly nods to himself, satisfied with the words he had written, _Morisawa-senpai's smile_.

 

 

He slides the notebook back to the side before tucking himself back into his covers, almost instantly falling asleep, with starry night skies and bright smiles filling that night's dream.

**Author's Note:**

> EXTREME CHEESE. but I really do like to dwell on the fact that Chiaki's smile can maybe do wonders to Midori's well-being (and probably vice versa but I'll take care of that another time)


End file.
